In order to provide more power with an internal combustion engine without changing any of its integral components, such as cam shafts, cylinder heads, pistons, etc., it is possible to supply a larger volume of oxygen and fuel at the proper ratio to the cylinders. The induction of this larger volume of oxygen/fuel mixture produces more power because on each cycle of the engine more oxygen and fuel is available to be burned, which has a direct relationship to the power output generated by the engine.
This can be done in several ways, such as by using turbo-chargers and blowers to increase the inlet pressure of the fuel/air mixture delivered to the combustion cylinders, or by injecting nitrous oxide into the runners that carry the mixture to the cylinders so as to increase the amount of oxygen delivered to the combustion cylinders. Both turbos and blowers induce a mixture of fuel and atmospheric air to move at higher pressure to the cylinders. The least costly of these procedures is the use of nitrous oxide injection.
As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,805, fuel and nitrous oxide injection plates have been placed between the carburetor and the runners that lead to the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. Typically, the injection plate is substantially rectangular and defines a large central opening through which the stream from the carburetor to the engine passes. Typically, a nitrous oxide injector tube extends across the central opening, outlet ports are formed at intervals along the tube, and nitrous oxide at a pressure of approximately 1000 psi is delivered to the injection tube. The high pressure nitrous oxide is emitted from the delivery ports at intervals across the stream, with the nitrous oxide entering the injection tubes in the form of a liquid and immediately vaporizing as its pressure drops upon exiting the delivery ports. This creates turbulence in the stream passing from the carburetor to the engine, and generally distributes the nitrous oxide in the stream.
A second injection tube, a fuel injection tube, is positioned parallel to and downstream of the nitrous oxide injection tube for the purpose of delivering fuel, such as gasoline, to the stream. The outlet ports from the fuel injection tube are likely to be angled more laterally than the outlet ports of the nitrous oxide injection tube, thereby promoting the mixing of the fuel with the nitrous oxide.
In a high performance internal combustion engine, usually there are eight cylinders and pistons, and there are runners that extend from the vicinity of the carburetor to the cylinders, and the fuel/air/nitrous oxide stream is moved from the injection plate into the runners for delivery to the cylinders. By using the nitrous oxide/fuel injection plate of the prior art, it is anticipated that additional oxygen and fuel would be passed through each cylinder, thereby increasing the power of the engine.
A problem with the prior art fuel/nitrous oxide injection plate is that the nitrous oxide and fuel is not delivered in equal amounts to each runner for each cylinder, and some cylinders run lean while other cylinders run rich. This causes a difference in power generated from each cylinder and results in some cylinders running hotter than others.
The configuration of the inlets of the runners to an internal combustion engine will differ from engine to engine, so that the use of a standard sized and shaped injection plate for all engines typically will not result in equal distribution of the injected nitrous oxide and fuel to all runners and their cylinders.
It is to the above noted inadequacies of the prior art that this invention is directed.